Since their formation in 1990, The Brian Jonestown Massacre has had over 40 members, with its brainchild Anton Newcombe – the frontman genie and prolific songwriter with a knack for self-destruction – at the centre. With such an extensive back catalogue, selecting their best is no easy brief, but Teresa Delfino chooses five songs to give you a flavour of this sardonic group ahead of their Cardiff show this month.
1. Mary Please
BJM have released 20 studio albums to date, with no sign of slowing down, but 1996 was particularly significant. During this period, Newcombe recalled recording Take It From The Man! in the daytime, and Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request in the night. With the liner notes of TIFTM! payinghomage to Rolling Stones founder member Brian Jones – who already provides half of the band’s name, along with the 1978 Jonestown Massacre in which 900 followers of cult leader Jim Jones died – claiming his ghost asked him to make the record, Mary Please showcases the transition of their shoegaze-turned-British-R&B-psych-rock influence. As a snapshot of 90s doing 60s, the production captures a golden age of guitar music without feeling like a hippy costume party, and as it maps out the group’s unique stamp on psychedelia, it’s the perfect track to ease yourself into BJM.
2. Anemone
From the aforementioned Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request, Anemone paints a picture of the jaded turmoil that would chase Newcombe during this era. As he deepened a heroin habit, relationships both personal and with the law proved a struggle. Though the frontman has since kicked his drug addiction, the song remains an iconic piece of BJM’s identity, and a likely contender for their setlist this Feb – oh, and it’s also Anthony Bourdain’s favourite song. “Drenched in opiates and regret, I heard this song once and became besotted by it. It sounds like lost love, past lives, unforgiven mistakes and transgressions,” the late celebrity chef wrote.
3. Vad Hände Med Dem?
BJM’s 14th studio album Revelation wasa turning point for Newcombe, being their first record created with sobriety in mind. Just before the birth of his son Wolfgang, he relinquished booze and drugs, relocating to Berlin. “In the past, my heavy drug and alcohol use were parts of the recording process,” he said, in an interview with the Austin Monthly. “I’d make music that sounded good on drugs or booze, or whatever.” Much of the resulting album, released in 2014, could have made this list, but sanguine opening track Vad Hände Med Dem? stands out for its lyrics, sung in Swedish by Les Big Byrd’s Joakim Åhlund. Despite their despondent essence, there’s a crowning sense of optimism, reflective of a new era for Newcombe.
4. It Girl
Taken from Thank God For Mental Illness, their third album of 1996, It Girl is a two-minute, 11-second pastiche of the Rolling Stones with added western twang. The album’s cover comprises a photo of BJM’s Joel Gion – one of rock’s longest-serving tambourine players – and the attention-grabbing title, Newcombe’s riposte to being called insane by his mother (among many others). The group’s touring history has gained them a reputation for onstage inter-band brawls, with Newcombe frequently restarting songs citing “poor playing”. Hopefully any chaos will settle before their Welsh show this month.
5. Drained
Self-titled non-debut albums can suggest rejuvenation, a change in direction, or a confirmation of something already there. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, from 2019, is the latter: Drained, its opening song,is quintessential BJM. “I’m lost in this world ‘cause I’ve lost my way / I’ve got no place to go, I’ve got nothing to say / I walk down the road, and I’m on my track / Girl, I look straight ahead, but I don’t look back,” are its opening lyrics, embodying Newcombe’s uncontained attitude to life: carving his own path, especially through the music industry. Dig!, a 2003 documentary movie about the band that’s retained cult status, details a friendship-turned-feud between BJM and the Dandy Warhols, whose frontman Courtney Taylor enjoys a starcrossed rivalry with Newcombe. Though the feature also spotlights BJM’s many floundered opportunities for commercial success, Newcombe to this day maintains the view that this is the preserve of sellouts: that creativity is at odds with major label career-chasing.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Thurs 20 Feb.
Tickets: £32.50. Info: here
words TERESA DELFINO
